Great shows

I think they defiantly need to come back. All the garage that is on TV now. Perverted, no Innocence anymore, twerking, language, no wonder these kids act the way they do. Kids don't believe in anything, they have no respect for elders, they are lazy, I am not speaking for all children. They have certainty changed since I was a child. I believe it's what is put in their minds. These shows were very positive and clean..moreless

They just never quite made the grade

I was the generation to which it was introduced. I can't remember one person in my school ever saying they liked it. We ususally considered it outdoor time or time to get homework done before the real stuff started on TV. I can remember ABC advertising them and all of us groaning and trying to figure out what on earth we were going to do for the time it was on. The shows to put it in our terms were lame, dumb and talked down to us. The cute moral messages were over cooked and over done and the acting and story line didn't support them well.It was rated right up there with going to the dentist to have a tooth drilled. It was something you had to put up with because ABC thought it was being improving. I always wondered if they ever bothered to ask a kid.Hindsight many years later, I can tell you the acting was bad, the plots were bad and the message was indeed over done. Really bad TV that was suppose to enlighten instead boring the audience.moreless

Great shows that should be a part of today's tv line-up!

I grew up watching these afterschool specials and I think it is about time they made a comeback to the afternoon television line up. There is so much junk on tv today that kids/teens really do not need to be watching. Most of television is "Hollywood" reality television which tends to glamorize sex and drinking and these are the shows our youth are watching and modeling themselves after. The youth of today are trying to grow up way to fast and are dealing with the pressures sex/drugs/drinking at a younger age. These afterschool specials were clean, honest, simple shows that dealt with a specific issue and delivered the message in a realistic manner, not the "hollywood" version. I learned alot from these shows and I think the youth of today could benefit from them making a comeback!moreless

60-90 minute shows, each focusing on some trauma of teenage life.

A classic from my childhood and adolescent years. Yes, it could be predictable and sappy and focused on youthful trauma and humiliation. But for some kids going through stressful situations (divorce, eating disorders, pregnancies, family pressures, date rape, etc.) alone, I'm sure it was comforting to see they weren't alone. Unfortunately, as time went by, themes were repeated over and over and the series became less original simply by its longevity (which happens to most series). It became a punchline to jokes rather than being relevant to the changes teens were going through in the 1990s. It outlived its usefulness but it is a shame that there doesn't exist something like this show--updated, of course,--for the current generation.moreless

glad this ended

There is uncertainty about the life span for this show. Despite documented evidence in the "Episode List" to the contrary, it has been assumed the The ABC Afterschool Special were a fatality of the first U.S. war with Iraq. Then again, it may have just been that more and more ABC affiliates got sick of wasting one hour each month that could have been devoted to Oprah Winfrey.

THIS WEEK'S DVD RELEASES INCLUDE A HOST OF FAVORITE SHOWS FROM THE 1970S. GET NOSTALGIC WITH ADAM-12, EMERGENCY!, GOOD TIMES, AND WHAT'S HAPPENING!!...OR IF THAT'S NOT YOUR CUP OF TEA, CHECK OUT SIX FEET UNDER, THE O.C., AND MORE!

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